2013-14 NCAA PREVIEW
Penn State seeking fourth straight title
Minnesota, Iowa, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma also expected to contend for championship
By Craig Sesker Can the Penn State Nittany Lions win their fourth straight
NCAA wrestling title? Will the Iowa, Oklahoma State or Minnesota return to the top?
Or will Oklahoma make a run at the gold trophy this season? Can Ohio State’s Logan Stieber stay on course to win four national titles? How many of the seven returning NCAA champions, and nine
overall, will climb to the top step of the podium this season? These are among the many compelling storylines that fans
will be following when the 2013-14 college wrestling season kicks off in early November. The final answers will come at the NCAA Championships in late March in Oklahoma City. It promises to be another exciting season. Here is a weight-by-weight breakdown for the 2013-14 sea-
son: 125 pounds
Illinois junior Jesse Delgado turned it on late in the season to capture Big Ten and NCAA titles this past season. The talented Delgado beat hard-nosed Nico Megaludis of
Penn State in the NCAA finals. Megaludis, a junior, has placed second in the country the past two seasons. Cornell sophomore Nahshon Garrett opened plenty of eyes
last season with a strong third-place finish. He will be in con- tention to win it all this season. This weight class also features past All-Americans in Oklahoma’s Jarrod Patterson, Minnesota’s David Thorn and Wyoming’s Tyler Cox. Iowa lost two-time NCAA champion Matt McDonough, but promising freshmen Thomas Gilman and Cory Clark look to make a big impact in the Hawkeye lineup. Gilman is a Cadet and Junior World Team member. Clark
beat Delgado and Gilman last season. 133 pounds
Ohio State’s Logan Stieber won this weight class the past two seasons, but is expected to move up to 141 for his junior sea- son. Stieber edged Iowa’s Tony Ramos in the finals this past
March. The hard-charging Ramos is the favorite at 133 for his senior season. Three-time All-American Tyler Graff of Wisconsin is another
6 USA Wrestler
Seniors Ed Ruth (above) and David Taylor (right) have led Penn State to three NCAA titles. USA Wrestling file photos.
standout in this division, but may bump up a class to 141. If Graff moves up, U.S. Greco-Roman World Team member
Jesse Thielke could be at 133 for the Badgers. Stanford’s Ryan Mango, second to Thielke at the U.S. World
Team Trials, has moved up to 133 after twice being an All- American at 125. All-Americans Jon Morrison of Oklahoma State and Chris Dardanes of Minnesota also return in this division. 141 pounds
Stieber will be the favorite here as he moves up a weight Continued on page 8
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